The Passenger
by VoodooQueen
Summary: COMPLETE! Bumblebee picks up a very peculiar passenger. Short, sweet oneshot.


**Author's Note: Hey kiddies!! I know…I should be updating my other stories. BUT I watched one too many episodes of 'Unsolved Mysteries' and this little story popped in my head. I couldn't resist…I had to write it down. I hope you enjoy this little one shot.**

**Disclaimer: I know I seem to be obsessive about the Transformers right now, but I swear I don't own them. **

**The Passenger**

It was a wet, drizzly night. Fog hung low to the ground and the roads were more or less deserted as a certain yellow Camaro sped away from the city. It was what Bumblebee liked to think of as his time for himself. Sam and his family were tucked safely in their beds and the Decepticon threat was virtually nonexistent for the time being. There was nothing holding Bee back from taking a little time to 'stretch his legs' as the humans say. So, occasionally, after everyone was asleep, he would slip away and drive just to clear his CPU.

Leaving the city limits behind him, Bumblebee turned down the lesser frequented back roads and cranked his stereo up as loud as it would go and floored it. The speedometer on his dashboard topped out at 160mph as he flew down the old, vacant highway. Slowing slightly to take a curve, he was struck by the sudden realization that something was in the middle of the road ahead. No…not something…someone!

Bee slammed on his brakes, skidding sideways in the road and barely avoiding going into a spin as he braced himself for the impact he was certain he would feel at any moment. The only thought running through his processor was the death of the innocent human he would soon have on his conscience. Strangely enough however, the impact never came.

Finally sliding to a stop, Bee sat there trembling on his shocks. Composing himself, he chanced a look behind him. There, still ambling slowly down the center of the road as if nothing had happened, was the human he was certain he had accidentally killed. Relief flooded through him as well as concern for the tiny organic still trudging through the rain. Suppose someone else came along who wasn't as lucky at avoiding them? He couldn't leave the human out here to get hurt…not when he had come so close to hurting them himself.

Bee made a u-turn and slowly pulled up beside the human. On closer inspection, he could see that they were indeed a female. He was by no means an expert on Earthly fashion, but even with his limited knowledge of such things, he thought the female was dressed strangely. She appeared to be dressed for some sort of get together. Her below-the-knee, pink, chiffon dress was soaked through. The flower pinned to it was wilted and hanging askew. She had a small, pink purse clutched under one arm. Her hair, appearing as if it once hung in ringlets around her face, was plastered to her cheeks from the rain.

Activating his holoform, Bee rolled down the passenger side window. "Hey, a-are you alright?"

The young woman seemed to start at hearing his voice; it was as if she hadn't even noticed the bright yellow Camaro until that very instant. She stopped walking and turned her head toward the vehicle. "I just want to go home."

Bee stopped moving as well. This female certainly struck him as a peculiar human. He just couldn't quite put a finger on what was wrong with her. He wasn't going to let that stop him from helping her, though. "Why don't you let me give you a ride? I-I mean, it's the very least I can do after I almost…"

The woman seemed to consider his offer for a moment before nodding and reaching for the door handle. Sliding onto the leather seat and closing the door, she carefully arranged her sopping-wet dress over her knees. "Thank you."

Pulling away from the side of the road, Bee continued on in the direction the woman had been heading. Holo-Bee glanced at the woman. She seemed very pale, gaunt even. "Are you sure you're okay?"

The woman, who had been staring straight out through the windshield looked over at Bee's holoform and smiled. "I'm fine. I just need to get home."

Bee nodded. "Where is it you live…I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Betsy. My name's Betsy. I live just down Route 10, right outside the city. It's the only house there. You can't miss it." The woman smoothed her hands over the wet material covering her thighs.

Bumblebee kept one hand on the steering wheel and extended the other in Betsy's direction. "It's nice to meet you, Betsy. Route 10 it is. My name is Bee."

Betsy hesitantly took the offered hand and shook it. "Thank you for the ride…Bee."

Gripping the woman's hand, Bee was struck by how cold she was. How long had she been out here wandering in the rain? She would probably be sick tomorrow. He immediately increased the environmental temperature. "If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing wandering around out here in the middle of the night? It's dangerous. You were lucky you weren't killed."

Betsy seemed to consider his words for a moment before answering. "I went out dancing. I lost my ride home. I don't know what happened to him. I couldn't find him anywhere."

"He left you out here to walk?" Bee was a bit disturbed that a male would leave a female out in the middle of nowhere to walk alone in the rain and dark. An honorable mech would never put a femme in that sort of situation. Primus only knows what could possibly happen to them out all alone like that.

Betsy shrugged. "We were together…and then he was gone…"

Holo-Bee cocked an eyebrow at the strange statement as he turned onto Route 10. "Okay, Betsy, let me know when we're close. I don't want to pass it up."

Betsy nodded. "It isn't far. Just go over the train tracks, it's on the left about a half mile passed." She pointed out the windshield at the tracks she spoke of.

Bee slowed to cross over the tracks. Looking over at his passenger, he noticed she had leaned a bit forward in her seat. Her icy cold hands rested gently on his dash. A soft smile tugged at her too-pale lips as a small, white house came into view. "Is that it?"

"Yes!" The woman turned and smiled at him brightly. "That's my house!"

Bee chuckled at her excitement. He had never seen someone get so excited just seeing their dwelling. He turned smoothly and pulled into the driveway. Cutting his engine, he turned to give her one last going over. "Are you certain that you're alright?"

Betsy smiled, her pale lips pulled taut. "I am now." She reached across the seat and took one of Bee's hands in both of her clammy ones. "Thank you for the ride. I never thought I would make it here."

Without another word, Betsy released Bee's hand and opened the door. Climbing out, she quickly dashed for the front porch to get out of the rain. Turning back toward the Camaro, she gave one last little wave before disappearing inside the house.

Bee waved back as he watched her slip inside. An odd human specimen, but she had seemed nice enough. He was just thankful that he was able to give her a ride. He didn't even want to consider the alternate way his evening could have played out. No harm, no foul. He wouldn't dwell on what could have happened. Everything had turned out in the end.

He was slowly backing down the drive, when something shimmery and pink in his floorboard caught his attention. Using his holoform to retrieve the object, he realized that Betsy had forgotten her purse. No doubt she would be looking for it in the morning. There was no telling what sort of important things she had in it. He recalled Mikaela once stating that "women carry their entire lives in their purse."

Thinking it better to return her property immediately, Bee pulled back up to the house. Utilizing his holoform, he grabbed the purse and trotted up to the front door. The house was dark, but surely Betsy couldn't have gone into recharge this quickly. She should still be up. Bee knocked sharply on the door.

It took several moments before the lights inside flicked on. The door opened a crack revealing an old, wrinkled face framed by tufts of gray hair. The woman peered at the young man on her doorstep suspiciously. "Can I help you?"

"Uh…I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am. The young lady that lives here…Betsy…she left her purse in my car." Bee held up the bag. "I just wanted to return it."

A strange look crossed the woman's face as she looked at the small clutch. She looked back up at Bee a bit perplexed. "Young man, is this some sort of sick joke? If it is, I don't find it a bit amusing." She snatched the purse out of his hands. "Where did you get this?"

Bee tilted his head in confusion. "I-I told you…"

The old woman threw the door open and stepped out onto the porch to face Bee. "JUST STOP IT!"

Bee's mouth snapped shut. "I don't understand…"

The old woman hugged the purse to her chest. "Oh, Elizabeth…" She looked back up at Bee with tears in her eyes. She could tell the young man honestly had no idea what was going on. "There is no young woman that lives here. I live here alone."

Bee's processor was becoming more confused by the second. "But…she told me she lives here."

"Lived." A tear streaked down one of her cheeks. "Elizabeth…Betsy lived here."

Holo-Bee's eyebrows scrunched together. "She doesn't anymore? I picked her up down the road. I brought her here. I watched her go inside…" Bee glanced behind the woman, through the open door to a picture that hung on the wall. "That's her! That's Betsy!"

The old woman's breath hitched as she turned to look at what had grabbed the man's attention. "That's impossible. Elizabeth is dead."

Bee's holoform flinched. "Wait…what?"

"Elizabeth died 40 years ago on her way home from a dance. Her date had a bit too much to drink. He drove them right into a tree…He survived…but Betsy…Betsy didn't make it…died on impact, they said…"

Bumblebee didn't stick around to hear the rest. It was too much like one of those shows Sam liked to watch about the 'Unexplained'. He quickly made his way back to his alt form. Once his holoform was safely inside, he locked his doors. He couldn't help the way he shuddered on his suspension. He now had one more thing to add to his ever growing list of Earthly encounters. He didn't think he would be in need of any 'alone time' for quite a while. None of the other Autobots were ever going to believe this one.

**The End**

**If you can't tell… I watched the episode where the guy picks up the vanishing hitch hiker. I love 'Unsolved Mysteries', lol.**

**See ya!**

**VQ**


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